UN General Assembly 2025: France and Allies Push to Recognize Palestinian State Amid Israel’s Opposition

As the United Nations General Assembly opens in New York this week, the debate over Palestinian statehood has taken center stage. France and several other countries are preparing to formally recognize a Palestinian state, following a wave of symbolic endorsements from Western allies that has provoked strong opposition from Israel.

Growing Momentum for Recognition

On Sunday, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Portugal all announced their recognition of a Palestinian state, a move aimed at increasing diplomatic pressure on Israel as its military campaign in Gaza enters its second year. The conflict, which erupted after Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack, has left tens of thousands dead, leveled large parts of Gaza, and intensified international outrage.

French President Emmanuel Macron signaled that Paris would join the push on Monday, coinciding with his planned meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Macron framed the recognition as a step toward reviving the two-state solution, long seen as the cornerstone of peace efforts in the region.

“They want a nation, they want a state, and we should not push them towards Hamas,” Macron said in a U.S. television interview on Sunday. He added that France would make the release of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas a condition for opening an embassy to a Palestinian state.

Israel Pushes Back

Israel has fiercely rejected the wave of recognition. Its foreign ministry said the moves “do not promote peace, but on the contrary further destabilize the region and undermine the chances of achieving a peaceful solution in the future.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on Sunday, repeating his longstanding refusal to accept a Palestinian state and pledging to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Two of his far-right ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, went even further, calling for outright annexation of the territory.

Despite warnings of retaliation, UN Secretary-General António Guterres insisted that the international community should not be intimidated. “With or without doing what we are doing, these actions would go on,” he said Friday, adding that recognition could help rally global pressure against further escalation.

A Divided Diplomatic Arena

This year’s General Assembly is expected to draw more than 140 heads of state and government. The gathering will be dominated by the question of Palestinian statehood, alongside other crises including the war in Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear program, and Russian airspace violations.

Notably absent will be Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Washington denied him and his delegation visas to attend in person, a move that drew criticism from many UN members. In response, the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly—145 to five—to allow Abbas to address the summit by video link.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak on Tuesday. He has repeatedly opposed Palestinian recognition and has dismissed Abbas’s Palestinian Authority as an unsuitable partner for peace. Observers expect Trump to use his address to reaffirm Washington’s backing of Israel.

International Divisions Over the Path Forward

While countries like France are moving ahead with recognition, others remain cautious. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated that Berlin views recognition as the conclusion of a peace process, not the starting point. Still, he urged that talks toward a two-state solution must begin immediately.

Analysts warn that symbolic recognition without concrete measures risks becoming empty diplomacy. “Unless backed up by action, recognizing Palestine as a state risks becoming a distraction from the reality, which is an accelerating erasure of Palestinian life in their homeland,” said Max Rodenbeck, director of the Israel-Palestine project at the International Crisis Group.

Human Cost of the Conflict

The toll of the war continues to mount. The Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack killed 1,219 Israelis, most of them civilians, according to official figures. In response, Israel launched a relentless military campaign that has, according to Gaza’s health ministry, killed more than 65,000 Palestinians—also mostly civilians. The United Nations has deemed those casualty figures credible.

As world leaders converge on Manhattan, the normally bustling neighborhood around the UN headquarters has been transformed into a fortress of security sweeps, protests, and traffic gridlock. For many, the week’s discussions will be a defining moment: a test of whether symbolic recognition can translate into diplomatic momentum—or whether the rift over Palestinian statehood will only deepen global divisions.